Earl Grey Apricot Tart Cake

Wash and pit the apricots, weigh 300 g flesh and cut into small pieces.

Mix with 60 g rock sugar and 3 g lemon juice, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Transfer the fruit and released juice to a saucepan and simmer gently for about 10 minutes until soft and starting to thicken.

Add 3 drops vanilla extract and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.

Cool completely, about 30 minutes, and blend if you prefer smoother cream.

Reserve 50 g jam for the assembly cream and 30 g for the decorating cream, keeping the rest for the filling as desired.

Place 50 g clean apricot skins, 5 g granulated sugar and 130 g plain sparkling water in a saucepan.

Cook for about 3 minutes, then remove all the apricot skins.

Add 10 g bai liangfen white jelly powder and stir over low heat until completely dissolved.

Seal the base of a ring smaller than the sponge with foil or suitable food wrap and arrange pitted apricot slices inside.

Let the jelly liquid cool for about 10 minutes while still fluid, then pour into the ring to cover the fruit slices.

Refrigerate for about 2 hours until firm enough to lift as a whole disk.

Mix 60 g softened butter with 20 g icing sugar until smooth.

Mix in 25 g ground almonds, 85 g cake flour and 2 g salt.

Add 1 egg yolk and gently bring together without prolonged kneading.

Wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Roll between baking paper, line the base and sides of a tart pan wider than the 6-inch sponge and trim the excess.

Prick the base with a fork and keep cool while mixing the filling.

Mix 40 g softened butter with 30 g icing sugar until combined.

Gradually add 50 g beaten egg, stirring after each addition.

Mix in 50 g ground almonds until evenly combined.

Transfer the filling to a bag, pipe into the raw tart shell and spread evenly.

Bake the shell and filling together in a preheated oven at 160°C for 30 minutes until golden and cooked through.

Cool completely on a rack, about 45 minutes, then remove from the pan.

Bring 44 g milk with 3 g finely ground Earl Grey tea just to a boil and cool, while separating 3 eggs and freezing the whites with 3 drops lemon juice for 15 minutes.

Whisk 36 g corn oil with the cooled tea milk, sift in 55 g cake flour and mix with the 3 yolks until smooth.

Whip the cold but unfrozen whites with 35 g caster sugar until smooth with small peaks.

Mix one third of the whites into the tea batter, then pour back into the remaining whites.

Fold gently until evenly combined without stirring vigorously and deflating the foam.

Pour into an ungreased tall 6-inch chiffon pan and tap gently to release large bubbles.

Preheat the oven with top heat at 130°C and bottom heat at 145°C, then bake for 30 minutes.

Set both top and bottom heat to 145°C and bake for another 20 minutes.

Increase top heat to 170°C while keeping bottom heat at 145°C and bake for another 8 minutes until cooked through.

Remove the cake and invert the pan over an airy rack until completely cool, about 60 minutes.

Prepare the creams and check that the jelly is firm while the sponge cools.

Unmold and use a serrated knife to slice into 3 even layers.

Mix 50 g mascarpone with 25 g sugar, add 500 g cold whipping cream and whip until stable enough for assembly, then fold in 50 g cold apricot jam and reserve some cream for top piping.

Separately make the decorating batch with 20 g mascarpone, 12 g sugar, 200 g cold whipping cream and 30 g cold apricot jam in the same way, transfer to a piping bag and chill.

Spread assembly cream on the tart, add the first sponge, pipe a cream rim and fill the center with pitted drained sweetened apricots and a little remaining jam.

Cover with cream, add the second sponge and then add cream, the unmolded apricot jelly disk and another layer of cream.

Add the third sponge, cover the top and sides with the remaining assembly cream and smooth the surface.

Refrigerate for about 20 minutes to firm the cream before decorating.

Use the decorating cream to pipe a shell border around the base.

If using prepared orange cake drip glaze, let it cool completely and test its flow before applying around the top edge.

Pipe the reserved assembly cream in a ring on top and place a small prepared caramel pudding in the center if using.

Arrange pitted drained sweetened apricot halves on the cream ring and add small edible herb sprigs if desired.

Refrigerate for about 1 hour until the cream and fillings are firm.

Cut into 8 portions with a sharp knife, wipe the knife between cuts and serve cool.